Goodbye and Good Riddance

What?

You thought I was talking to you, dear readers and fellow babies, when I said "Goodbye and Good Riddance?"

No, of course not!

I'm talking to 2016!

Let's face it, 2016 has really sucked in a number of ways. I can't help but hope that 2017 will be better. (But... I also know that such is not necessarily gonna be the case. In addition, I don't put too much importance on the changing of a silly calendar page.)

Nevertheless, I won't miss 2016, and I'm practically forced by circumstances to think that 2017 will be an improvement.

But one never knows...

(And let's hope we get through the next few hours without any celebrity deaths!)

Thanks for your time.

P.S. ~~ Happy New Year!

Debbie Reynolds, 1932-2016, R.I.P.

Now I'm really sick, with an attitude that 2016 is (still) out to "get" me.

Unbearably soon after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher, actress Debbie Reynolds has died at the age of eighty-four, apparently from a stroke brought on by the stress of her daughter Carrie's death.

I've been a fan of Debbie Reynolds' from the moment I was able to attach a name to that actress on the screen. Like everyone else (it seems), I loved her in movies like Singin' in the Rain, but I loved lesser-known efforts such as Goodbye Charlie and Susan Slept Here as well. And it was a particular treat to see her teamed with Albert Brooks in 1996's Mother.

She had it all: talent, looks, class.... So often in these little tributes of mine, I write "he (or she) will be missed," but for me, it's especially true in this case.

Thanks for your time.

Carrie Fisher, 1956-2016, R.I.P.

2016 couldn't say good-bye without a few more kicks below the belt, could it?

At the risk of blaspheming against my fellow geeks, I've never been a huge Star Wars fan. But Carrie Fisher's death this morning was still quite a shock to me. She was only 60. (I say "only" to make myself feel better. She and I shared a birth year, 1956.)

I was and am less of a Star Wars fan and more of a Carrie Fisher fan. She was, for instance, quite enjoyable in her role as the crazed stalker in The Blues Brothers. And let's not forget that she was a successful author. And of course, I'm old enough to remember her when she was "just " the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds!

Whether you know her only as Princess Leia, or from her other roles, her writings, or any combination thereof, her death is a tragedy and she will be missed.

Thanks for your time.

John Glenn, 1921-2016, Greg Lake, 1947-2016, R.I.P.

Well, I don't think we really needed proof that 2016 has been an all-around awful year, but today we have not one but two celebrity deaths to note. (Actually, I learned of both deaths yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to write this until this morning.)

1. John Glenn, 1921-2016

When I was a kid in the 1960s, the space program had the country -- well, the world -- enthralled.  John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth (in 1962) in his space capsule, the Friendship 7, was a real  hero to us all.  He saw himself somewhat differently. “I figure I’m the same person who grew up in New Concord, Ohio, and went off through the years to participate in a lot of events of importance.”

Glenn also served four terms as a Democratic senator from Ohio. He even got to go back into outer space at the age of seventy-seven!

John Glenn passed away at the age of ninety-five.

*  *  *  *  *

2. Greg Lake, 1947-2016

The "Lake" in Emerson, Lake and Palmer has died from cancer at 69.

Greg Lake was a founding member of both ELP, and King Crimson before it.

King Crimson's first LP, “In the Court of the Crimson King,” is often referred to as the first progressive rock album.

To  quote from The New York Times, "Mr. Lake sang lead and played bass and guitar with Emerson, Lake and Palmer. He also produced several of the group’s enormously successful albums, contributed most of the lyrics and, with Mr. Emerson, wrote the music for many of the songs."

Thanks for your time.

Van Williams, 1934-2016, R.I.P.

Van Williams, best known for his portrayal of The Green Hornet in the 1967 TV series of the same name, has died at the age of eighty-two. Mr. Williams died on November 28 of renal failure.

Before playing that role, he was best known for his character Kenny Madison, who appeared on two separate series, ABC's Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6. 

The Green Hornet was produced due to the popularity of TV's Batman series. Williams, however, insisted that the show did not descend to the silliness level of Batman. The Green Hornet -- which introduced American audiences to actor and martial arts expert Bruce Lee -- was about as serious in tone as a show about a superhero could be.

 Batman and the Green Hornet appeared together in a two-part crossover.

Thanks for your time.